30K Have Signed Petition to Stop Use of New UC System Logo

More than 30,000 people have signed a petition demanding the University of California (UC) system stop using its newer, “hipper” logo. The UC system will use the new logo for branding purposes, and it will be prominently associated with nearly all aspects of the UC system. The petitioners note, the logo will aspire “to become the primary identifier of the University” instead of the traditional seal the UC system had used for the past 144 years.

The petition from the UC Community and it’s supporters strongly urge the UC Regents to “reconsider the changing the identity of the University to the newly designed logo” because the new symbol does not “represent the stature and honor of the University of California.”

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“We feel that the new logo no longer resonates with the University’s values or prestige,” the petition reads. “We ask that you do not use the newly designed monogram and state your intent to keep the current seal as the identifier of the UC system for all purposes or look for an alternative solution, in order to continue respecting the spirit of the collective University of California campuses and those who support it.”

Jason Simon, the director of Marketing Communications for the UC system, responded to the petitioners by writing that the UC system is “paying attention” to the negative feedback but noted the new logo would not replace the seal but is part of the UC’s “Onward California” campaign. Simon said during “testing and discussion,” the old seal signified “bureaucracy” and “staidness” and the new mark will be used to “build awareness and support for all the things that UC does to make California (and by extension the world) better.” He noted the designers tried to create a logo that would be “iconic,” “flexible,” and “solid enough” to “represent the UC system as a whole.”

UC system spokeswoman Dianne Klein told the Los Angeles Times that the traditional seal would still be on the diplomas but the UC system wanted “something more visually contemporary and versatile, especially for online efforts to seek donations and recruit applicants” because the old logo does not reproduce well in small size on Internet pages.”